A British film sales agency for film and TV
We find the audience before we find distribution.
Before a film goes to market, we test it with a recruited audience. What we learn shapes the film, how we position it, and which distributors we approach.
We keep our representation slate deliberately small — each film we take on is genuinely researched, tested, marketed and sold.
- Representation slate — enquire for availability
- Every film tested before a buyer sees it
What we do
We build an audience distributors can grow
We build awareness and interest among the people most likely to watch your film — through positioning, materials, festival strategy and targeted marketing. That gives distributors an audience to build on and a clearer starting point for the release. This helps your film reach more people and helps distributors make the release a success.
We sell it, territory by territory
We license your film to distributors, broadcasters and platforms across the major markets, and handle the deal from first approach through to contract, collection and reporting.
And we consult, when that's what's needed
Not every film needs representation, and not every producer wants it. Sometimes you need an hour with someone who does this for a living. That's a service we provide too.
The fourteen steps
What we would do to lower the risk on a film and increase its chance of earning money.
Every step is drawn from over a hundred years of Hollywood practice, scaled to fit an independent film's budget and schedule. None of this is new — studios have worked this way since the 1930s.
Before the budget is committed · Steps 1–6
- Establish the film's core genre.
- Test the core genre against established genre rules. Result: validation or change.
- Establish the film's core audience demographics.
- Test the film against core audience demographic assumptions. Result: validation or change.
- Establish the core distributors — those who buy for this genre and these demographics.
- Test the film against those distributors' demand for it. Result: validation or change.
During production · Step 7
- Produce the film — keeping to the established genre, audience and distributors, or retest if you diverge.
After the cut · Steps 8–13
- Screen the film to a recruited audience that includes the core demographics. Collect marketing material. Result: validation or change.
- Test the film with a focus group from the core demographics. Result: validation or change.
- When scores are high enough, screen to press and industry creatives. Collect marketing material.
- Create marketing material from the data collected above.
- Test the marketing material against core audience demographics. Result: validation or change.
- Collate everything and make it presentable.
Going to market · Step 14
- Take the film to market — B2B marketing funnel (socials, festivals, press) and B2B sales funnel (film markets, sales meetings, deals).
The Blueprint is all fourteen steps as a document — written out so you can run them yourself. Read the Blueprint →
The fourteen steps we follow, written out so you can run them yourself.
The Blueprint →The audience decides what a film is
Everyone in this business is guessing.
We'd rather know.
A film isn't finished when you lock the cut. It's finished when an audience watches it and delivers its verdict — and that happens whether you were in the room or not. The only question is whether you find out while you can still act on it, or after it's too late.
Studios have worked this way for decades. Independent producers mostly can't. So we do it ourselves, at a size that fits an independent film.
Nobody in this business gets the last word. Not the director, not the buyer, not sales agent. Only the audience.
Who we work with
In development (financing in place) — producers, filmmakers, production companies and studio executives who want to run the validation steps before committing production budget.
In pre-production — anyone checking creative decisions against genre rules, audience demographics and buyer demand while they are still cheap to act on.
In production — producers keeping the film to the specification the validation work established.
In post-production — directors and producers who want to know how the film plays with a real audience, and what the numbers mean, before a buyer sees it.
Going to market — producers and production companies looking for international sales representation on a film that has been tested and documented.
Dawson's at a glance
- Founded
- 2018 by Joey Dawson
- Based
- London, United Kingdom
- Services
- sales representation, film marketing, consulting
- Slate size
- deliberately small — typically around five per year
- Markets attended
- all major markets
- Focus
- independent feature films — all genres, no documentaries currently
- Territories
- worldwide and international rights
- Contact
- sales@dawsonagents.com
Common questions
What does a film sales agent actually do?
A sales agent licenses your film's distribution rights to buyers in each territory — distributors, broadcasters and platforms. They set minimum guarantee targets per territory, arrange market screenings, negotiate the deals. They are not your distributor, your financier or your publicist. They are the person who turns a finished film into deals.
Do I need a sales agent for my film?
If you want international distribution and don't already have direct relationships with buyers in each territory, yes — practically speaking. Buyers acquire at volume, from people they know, in compressed windows around the markets. If you're only after a single-territory release and you have that relationship, you may not need one.
How long is your agreement?
Subject to contract. We'd rather earn a renewal than hold rights we've stopped working.
Will you look at my film if it hasn't been to a festival?
Yes. Festival selection helps and it isn't a requirement. Send it.
What stage should I approach you at?
Earlier than most people do — when financing is secured. If you're in post, we can help with positioning while changes are still possible. If you're finished, send the film.
When should I be talking to you — before or after the film is finished?
Before, if you can. The work that moves a price most is the work that happens while the cut can still change and while there's still a budget line to pay for it. If the film is finished, we can still help — but we're then working with what exists rather than helping shape it.